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Portugal passport photo requirements

The photo rules set by Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (Justiça) for the Portugal passport, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 14 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What are the Portugal passport photo requirements?

You do not bring a photo for a Portuguese electronic passport (PEP). You apply in person with a valid Cartão de Cidadão or Bilhete de Identidade, and the IRN counter or the consulate records your picture with the rest of your biometric data on its own equipment. The exception is the temporary passport, valid for at most 1 year: consulates ask for 2 identical passport-type colour photos on a plain background, taken less than a year before.

The Passaporte Eletrónico Português is the travel document Portuguese citizens need for trips outside the European Union and the Schengen area. In Portugal it is issued by the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) through its registry counters, the Lojas do Cidadão in every municipal seat, the passport shops at Lisbon and Porto airports and the regional governments of the Azores and Madeira. Abroad, Portuguese consular posts take the request. Only the holder can apply, and only in person; for a child, the parent or guardian applies and the child comes along.

There is no photo to prepare. The IRN booking page tells you to have a valid Cartão de Cidadão or Bilhete de Identidade with you on the day, and the consular page adds that no other document can stand in for it. The Consulate General in Macau and Hong Kong explains that the passport is produced in Portugal by the INCM, the state printing works, from biometric data recorded on the consulate's own equipment. A printed photo only matters if you need a temporary passport, a non-electronic emergency document.

Portugal passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (Justiça):[1]

Print sizeNo print for the electronic passport: captured on site. Temporary passport at a consulate: 2 passport-type prints, size not stated
Digital sizeNo file to upload: the counter or consulate records the image itself
BackgroundTemporary passport: plain (fundo liso), colour not stated; electronic passport: on-site capture
ColourTemporary passport: colour prints
Photo ageTemporary passport: taken less than 1 year before the request

In the official words

Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:

medidas adequadas ao modelo de passaporte

Passaporte temporário[7]

Key requirements

  • Picture recorded at the appointment

    The electronic passport is printed from data captured when you apply. The appointment checklist names only your citizen card or identity card, and consulates record the biometric data on dedicated equipment, so you hand in no photo.

  • In person, with a valid citizen card

    Only the holder may request a passport, in person. A valid Cartão de Cidadão or Bilhete de Identidade must be shown and nothing else replaces it. If your card has expired, renew it before you book the passport.

  • Children must attend

    For anyone under 18 the request is made by whoever holds parental responsibility, who shows their own identity document. The child has to be there too.

  • Temporary passport takes prints

    The consular list for a temporary passport asks for two identical passport-type photos of your face, in colour, on a plain background, taken less than a year earlier, good enough for identification and sized to suit the passport model.

  • No duplicate passports

    The IRN does not issue second copies. If a passport is lost or must be replaced, you apply for a new one, again in person.

  • Temporary passport has limits

    It is valid for one year at most, some countries refuse it at the border, and it should be exchanged for an ordinary passport as soon as possible.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Book a slot or take an online ticket for an IRN counter, Loja do Cidadão or consulate.
  • Bring your valid Cartão de Cidadão or Bilhete de Identidade.
  • Bring your previous passport when you renew.
  • Renew an expired citizen card before asking for a passport.
  • Take your child to the appointment, with your own identity document.
  • For a temporary passport abroad, bring two identical colour photos under a year old.

Don't

  • Do not expect to hand in photos for an ordinary electronic passport.
  • Do not send someone else to apply in your place.
  • Do not offer a foreign ID or residence permit instead of the citizen card.
  • Do not use photos more than a year old for a temporary passport.
  • Do not travel on a temporary passport without checking that your destination accepts it.

Babies and children

A Portuguese child needs a passport of their own to travel outside the EU. The request is made by whoever holds parental responsibility, guardianship or curatorship, and the child must attend with that person, who brings their own identity document. If the parent is a foreign national, the IRN also asks for proof that they live in Portugal legally, such as a valid passport and visa or a residence permit.

At a consulate the same rules apply, and any document proving parental responsibility or guardianship must have been issued less than six months earlier. The Consulate General in Macau and Hong Kong notes that a passport for a child under 4 is valid for only two years, so young children go back for a new one, and a new capture, more often.

Neither a print nor a digital file is handed in for the electronic passport. The image is recorded during the appointment and then personalised into the passport, which is made centrally in Portugal. You cannot pick or prepare the picture in advance.

Prints matter only for the temporary passport. The consular checklist asks for two identical passport-type colour prints on a plain background, less than a year old and sized to suit the passport model, without giving millimetres. Portugal's own identity card regulation describes the passport-type format as up to 45 x 35 mm, height first, under ICAO recommendations, which is 35 x 45 mm width first. A digital image can be cropped to that size and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter; confirm the size with the consulate first.

Where to submit the photo

In Portugal, go to an IRN registry counter or a Loja do Cidadão, either with an appointment booked through the SIGA scheduling service or with an online ticket for same-day service. Urgent requests can be made at the passport shops at Lisbon and Porto airports, by appointment, and residents of the Azores and Madeira can also apply through their regional governments. You collect the passport where you applied, or pay extra for delivery to an address.

Abroad, apply at the Portuguese consular post for your area during counter hours. The passport can be sent to the consulate or delivered to your home abroad. The Macau and Hong Kong consulate takes bookings on its website and hands passports over in person. At the airport passport shops in Portugal, the IRN lists only your card and proof of urgency for a temporary passport.

How to get your Portugal passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Portugal passport. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: picture recorded at the appointment; in person, with a valid citizen card; children must attend; temporary passport takes prints.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Neither a print nor a digital file is handed in for the electronic passport. The image is recorded during the appointment and then personalised into the passport, which is made centrally in Portugal. You cannot pick or prepare the picture in advance.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. In Portugal, go to an IRN registry counter or a Loja do Cidadão, either with an appointment booked through the SIGA scheduling service or with an online ticket for same-day service.

Make this photo online

Portugal passport photo FAQ

No, not for the electronic passport. The IRN asks you to bring only a valid Cartão de Cidadão or Bilhete de Identidade, and your picture is recorded with the other biometric data at the counter or consulate. Printed photos are needed only for a temporary passport issued by a consulate.

There is no size to meet for the electronic passport, because the counter captures the image. For a temporary passport the consular list asks for passport-type prints sized to suit the passport model, without stating millimetres. Portuguese card regulations describe the passport-type format as up to 35 x 45 mm, following ICAO.

Two identical passport-type photos of your face, in colour, on a plain background, taken less than one year before the request, in good condition for identification and sized for the passport model. You also need the request form, proof of travel and, for a minor, proof of parental responsibility.

Yes. The child must attend with the person who holds parental responsibility, who applies on the child's behalf and shows their own identity document. Abroad, any document proving parental responsibility or guardianship must be less than six months old.

No. Only the holder can request a passport, and only in person, at a counter or consulate where the biometric data are taken. You can book the appointment or take a queue ticket online, but the request itself is made face to face.

No. The IRN needs a valid Cartão de Cidadão or Bilhete de Identidade, so renew an expired card first. Consular pages add that the citizen card must be valid and up to date whatever your age, and that no other document can replace it.

The IRN offers normal, urgent and airport-urgent requests, and the passport shops at Lisbon and Porto airports handle urgent cases by appointment. Abroad, a consulate can issue a temporary passport in urgent and exceptional cases; it needs two printed photos and lasts one year at most.

Related photo specifications

Other Portugal documents

Passports nearby

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Official sources

  1. Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (Justiça). Passaporte eletrónico justica.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (Justiça). Agendar pedido do passaporte justica.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado. Tipos de passaporte irn.justica.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. gov.pt (Agência para a Modernização Administrativa). Pedir ou renovar o passaporte eletrónico português gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. gov.pt (Direção-Geral dos Assuntos Consulares e das Comunidades Portuguesas). Emitir o passaporte eletrónico português no estrangeiro gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Portal das Comunidades Portuguesas, Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros. Passaporte comum portaldascomunidades.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Portal das Comunidades Portuguesas, Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros. Passaporte temporário portaldascomunidades.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. Consulado Geral de Portugal em Macau e Hong Kong. Passaporte cgportugal.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
  9. Diário da República. Portaria n.º 169/2024/1 (republishes Portaria n.º 286/2017, Annex III) files.diariodarepublica.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  10. gov.pt (Agência para a Modernização Administrativa). Request or renew the Portuguese electronic passport gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  11. gov.pt (Agência para a Modernização Administrativa). Issue the Portuguese electronic passport abroad gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  12. gov.pt (Agência para a Modernização Administrativa). Renew the Cartão de Cidadão gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  13. Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (Justiça). Cartão de Cidadão justica.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  14. Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado. Cartão de Cidadão (new model) irn.justica.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (Justiça) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Portugal passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/portugal/passport-photo

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